- Faculty
- Staff
Jessica C. Brown
Titles
- Director, Center for Justice Reform
- Assistant Professor of Criminal Law
- Deputy Title IX Coordinator
Biography
Professor Jessica Brown joined the Vermont Law School faculty in July 2021 after a twenty-four-year public defender career in New Hampshire and Vermont, in both the state and federal criminal legal systems. Professor Brown’s areas of interest include addressing the impact of wealth and race disparities in the criminal and juvenile legal systems, moving away from law enforcement and punishment responses toward restorative and transformative responses to harm, and providing the resources to address issues of health, wellness, and stability that will make our communities safer.
Professor Brown is an experienced litigator and trial attorney having represented adult clients charged with felonies, misdemeanors, probation violations, and other post-conviction matters; as well as representing juveniles and parents in delinquency and CHINS matters. She has been involved in several state- and county-level initiatives to develop restorative justice programs and treatment models, and to address racial disparities in the criminal and juvenile legal systems.
A graduate of Carleton College (1991) and the Georgetown University Law Center (1996), Professor Brown clerked for the Hon. A. Franklin Burgess in the Washington D.C. Superior Court before beginning her career as a public defender.
Expertise
- Criminal Law and Procedure
Departments
- Center for Justice Reform
Courses Taught
- Criminal Law
- Constitutional Criminal Procedure